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[caption id="attachment_32701" align="alignnone" width="550"] My general style is to embarrass this poor woman.[/caption]

This next event may surpass them all - Portland is and always will be my hometown. I was born in Oregon City and went to school in the Beaverton School District, graduating from Southridge High School. (I'd rather not say when because, well, I'm old.)

Leading up to the event, I've been thinking a lot about this concept of "home", especially as I've recently claimed a new one after moving to Seattle.

Pittsburgh: Where I Found Myself (and just a few months before 30 - whoo!)

Before moving in August, I lived in Pittsburgh for three amazing years. I had just married my brilliant (and crazy-tolerant) wife, and other than striving to be the best husband possible, I had no idea what to do with my life ... until I discovered Startup Weekend.

I truly considered Pittsburgh my home until two opportunities opened up for me and lured me back to the West Coast: briefly serving as east coast regional manager for UP Global before its acquisition by Techstars, and now joining the mission to transform education, technology, and entrepreneurship with Galvanize.

Seattle: How I Quickly Thawed the "Seattle Freeze"

The move from Pittsburgh was ... precipitous. I didn't have the best chance to express my love and gratitude to everyone that did so much for me in Pittsburgh over the years (though I tried to cover as many bases again here). When I moved to Seattle, I was warned of the "Seattle Freeze" and heard it would take time for me to make friends.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk-U25qVxpE[/youtube]

That has not been the case ... because of Startup Weekend. The first people I contacted were my former co-workers, who then introduced me to the local Seattle community leaders. Instantly, I felt like I found my family here, connected by a shared passion and experience to build community through entrepreneurship.

Recently, I was invited out to the Techstars Community Leader Retreat to get to know Portland's Dina Moy and dozens of other organizers from the US and Canada. I came away with the trip with two impressions:

I am completely down with the Techstars vision and rationale for why it acquired UP Global. Techstars may be the largest for-profit accelerator in the world, but it was originally founded on the mission to lower the barriers of entrepreneurship to the world.

Supporting initiatives like Startup Weekend, Startup Next, Startup Digest, and Startup Week won't really be profitable in the short run (why mess with a good thing), but in the grand design, these programs will cultivate both better startups worthy of support and stronger, focused communities that can support them.

That's the vision that Techstars and UP Global shared, and that's why I'm willing to stay on as a community leader and global facilitator. The terms of engagement do not really change from a non-profit status (in fact, they never actually did when you discover the legal difference between donation and sponsorship). Why should our support of the community change because of it?

We may come from different cities, but we're all Startup Weekend nation. Every community leader had a story to share, and the rest of us listened. Whether it was a startup story or a Startup Weekend anecdote, we "got" each other. (The altitude may have been a factor.)

If You Can't Find Your Community, Create It (and Startup Weekend can help)

[caption id="attachment_32677" align="alignnone" width="550"] Me (right) with my sister back in our old home in Beaverton, OR.[/caption]

I look back on the last three years of being a Startup Weekender and can't believe how far I've come from my previous status as a graduate school drop out. I didn't make a lot of money, win any major awards, or acquire any common materialistic milestones like a new car or house.

I did, without question, make a lot of friends, and unlike the ones I made before, these friends stay in touch and support me however they can without asking anything in return, and vice versa. I also traveled a lot to places I never thought I'd ever go to until I was "summoned" by people I never met before.

[caption id="attachment_32676" align="alignnone" width="550"] I have a problem with respecting other people's private space.[/caption]

Every time I go facilitate, I ask to crash on a couch or even on the floor just for the opportunity to bond with another community leader. Anytime a community leader asks to visit me, I prepare a spare room for them, no strings attached.

I've found my family, and we're actually not that difficult to find.

Just look for the ones that "get it."

Lee Ngo is a Seattle-based community leader and global facilitator for Techstars formerly based in Pittsburgh. He currently works as an evangelist for Galvanize.